Apollo Hospitals has been ranked amongst the top organisations to work by Gallup Great Places to Work (GGWA). This would mean that Apollo is now amongst globally recognised organisations for mastering how to engage workforce to deliver sustainable growth. The GGWA is awarded to Organizations that have performed exceptionally well in engaging their workforce and thereby leveraging that to drive business results. These organizations average a ratio of 9 engaged employees to 1 disengaged employee, which is more than five times the ratio in the U.S. and more than 16 times the ratio for workforces globally. Winning the GGWA is an achievement by itself; this award places the Apollo Family amongst the best Organisations that have partnered with Gallup. The Apollo Hospitals group was the only one to have won this during the first wave of engagement. This not only recognizes the strong Leadership of the company but also the dedication and investment of time and energy that all the employees have invested to create an engaged workforce. GGWA has reinforced Apollo’s belief in treating their “”Employees”” truly as family members. The vision of it’s leadership to drive business results by engaging it’s employees has stood true to its promise. Having been selected as one of the top organizations recognizes our effort and belief in the philosophy of workforce engagement and also reinforces our drive to take this further and create an engaged workforce and thereby satisfying patients through world class quality!!  

Apollo Hospital’s subsidiary, Sapien Biosciences will introduce several genomic tests, over the next few months, as part of its personalized medicine initiative. Genomic testing involves analyses of the patient genomes and translating insights gained from these analyses to develop better healthcare interventions by the way of better prognostic tools for improved disease screening and prevention strategies, better diagnostic tests for optimization of clinical care and better theranostic tests for personalization of treatment. The first of these tests is to be launched shortly; there shall be a clinical genomics panel for oncology that is designed to identify the mutations that drive cancer initiation and progression. Insights obtained from this test will enable prediction of the patient’s response to their medication allowing the physician to tailor the treatment to the patient’s genomic profile. Further genetic tests planned for rollout include single gene panels for specific cancers (such as BRCA1/2), other disease specific genetic testing panels (such as diabetes, autism) pharmacogenetic panels (for assessment of response to specific drugs) and peri-natal diagnosis of genetic disorders. Dr.Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “We believe, that such genetic tests that are increasingly being adopted worldwide, will have a major impact on the delivery of quality clinical care and we are planning to integrate them into our clinical practice, in a manner consistent with global best practices”. “Along with the cancer genomic panels, we will also be launching other panels that will enable differential diagnosis of certain heritable eye and cardiovascular diseases. Such panels will be especially helpful in identifying specific gene mutations in affected individuals. This information can in turn be used to screen unaffected members of their family for early detection and management,” he added. “We shall also be introducing, genetic testing within the preventive healthcare context under careful physician supervision and with appropriate genetic counselling support. The advent of advanced genomic analytical techniques has enabled screening for genetic predisposition to various diseases. In this context, tests that identify an individual’s risk for diseases of high relevance in the Indian population could make a significant clinical impact.”  

The Immune Dysregulation Polyendocrinopathy Enteropathy X-linked Syndrome [IPEX] is a rare genetic autoimmune disease due to mutations in the FOXP3 gene, located on the X-chromosome. Affected males are present with an early onset of severe Enteropathy , usually accompanied by Insulin-Dependent diabetes, elevated serum IgE and Dermatitis. The other autoimmune symptoms include Hypothyroidism, Anaemia, Thrombocytopenia and Neutropenia. The onset in the severe form of the disease occurs within the first month of life and can be rapidly fatal. The use of Allogeneic Haematopoietic stem cell (HSCT) transplantation has been limited but, when performed before severe autoimmunity develops, can be an effective cure. A well matched cord blood unit was identified in a New York cord blood bank and was imported to Chennai for transplantation. The new cells were transfused into Damien on 14/11/2013 and he was supported all through until his immune system was replaced entirely by the new cord blood stem cells. The child was stabilized over 8 weeks by an expert multidisciplinary team consisting Pediatric Intensivists, Endocrinologists, Gastroenterologists, Infectious Disease Specialists, Dermatologists and a team of dedicated nurses. Damien recovered over the next few weeks and soon he could talk and walk and eat new food every day. In March 2014 he returned back home happy and healthy. Team Apollo gave this child a gift a new life. Damien is now freed from the risk of infections!  

Apollo Hospitals Group is a pioneer in bringing cure through transplants. Speaking on the occasion, Prof Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director and Senior Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Apollo hospitals, Delhi said, “we are delighted that we have been able to touch so many lives across the border. We performed the first successful liver transplant in India in 1998, the Apollo Transplant Program today has performed over 1700 liver transplants in children and adults”.  

A 52 year old kidney transplant beneficiary, who was also diabetic, can now look forward to an insulin free life This is the first of its kind to be performed in South India reinforcing Chennai as a haven for medical prowess. Post the surgery, the patient Parameshwari, who has been diabetic for over 20 years, can now look forward to an insulin free life over a few months as her condition gets better. Diabetes affects every system in the body; It can be Type 1 or burnt out Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 is typically seen in children and young adults. Type 2 diabetes is what we see commonly in adults. In the eyes, it affects the retina and is the leading cause of blindness. It affects the blood vessels supplying to the heart and is a common cause of heart attacks. It accelerates atherosclerosis which is a common cause of strokes/paralysis, heart failure and kidney failure. Uncontrolled sugars affect the nervous system too and once the peripheral nervous system is affected, sensation in the hands and feet come down. Continued injury is one of the leading causes of the loss of limb. Simultaneous Kidney-Pancreas transplant is an operation to replace kidney and pancreas at the same time in a patient who has kidney failure and also suffers from diabetes, needing very high insulin dose to control sugars. Diabetic patients with kidney failure need a kidney transplant to prolong their life. Steroids used as immunosuppressants make treatment of diabetes difficult and poorly controlled sugar levels will continue to affect the rest of the body including the transplanted kidney. However, performing pancreas transplant simultaneously eliminates these problems by optimally controlling sugar levels and by protecting the transplanted kidney from the adverse effects of diabetes. Additionally, it will also help reverse the effects of diabetes on other systems including peripheral neuropathy thus, protecting the limbs. Commenting on the surgery, Dr. Anand Khakhar, MultiVisceral Transplant surgeon at Apollo Hospitals, said “On an average 700 pancreas transplants are performed annually in USA. However in India, it is still in its infancy and will pick up with increasing cadaver donor organ donations. The recipient is known to have had diabetes for over 20 years and developed kidney failure about 6 months ago and she needed 50 units of insulin per day. She has done well , is completely relieved of her insulin intake and is free from dialysis. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Manish Varma, Transplant surgeon said that pancreas transplant can also be done following kidney transplant ( Pancreas after kidney transplant ) and as pancreas transplant along ( PTA) for select indications”. Dr. Manish Varma and Dr. Anand Ramamurthy also said in rare situations, Type 1 diabetics who have developed advanced neuropathy and are unable to appreciate low glucose levels (hypoglycemia unawareness) will benefit from pancreas alone transplant(PAT), even though they don’t have kidney failure. They will be on unrestricted diet, free from frequent sugar checks and insulin injections. Dr. Bhama, Director Medical Services , Apollo Hospitals recognised the Centre for Liver Disease and Transplantation, Apollo Hospitals as the most comprehensive solid organ transplant program in India today. Dr. Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals said “we will be setting up multiorgan transplant programs with the same facilities to include Pancreas, Intestine, Liver and Kidney transplants at the Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad and Bangalore”.  

The Apollo Hospitals Educational & Research Foundation (AHERF) along with Multi Regional Clinical Trials ( MRCT) Centre of Harvard University and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have joined to improve the process of evolving clinical trials regulations in India. The group also discussed accreditation of sites, independent ethics committees (IECs) and investigators, process of informedconsentandissues related to compensation and legislation. An Expert Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to formulate policy, guidelines and standard operating procedures for approval of new drugs including biologicals, clinical trials and banning of drugs. Union Minister of Health , Mr.GhulamNabi Azad recently stated ,’The committee set up under the chairmanship of Professor Ranjit Roy Chaudhury to formulate the policy , guidelines and standard operation procedures (SOP) for the approval of new drugs , clinical trials and banning of drugs has submitted its report. The government has examined the recommendations and finalized the action to be taken on various recommendations, the details of which have been posted on the CDSCO website””. The initiative is mainly to set up a National Accreditation Council as soon as possible to accredit 3 entities – clinical trial investigators, clinical trial sites and the ethics committees and also add education of bio – medical ethics to the medical college curriculum. The initiative believes that GCP (Good Clinical Practices) training should be mandatory for all investigators during clinical trials andall sites doing clinical research should strictly adhere to the guidelines for doing so . The other recommendations would be that opportunitiesshould be given to new centres to get accredited ; all medical colleges ( new sites) be encouraged to do clinical trials ; Institutional ethics committees or sub – committees need to look into compensation issues and relook is required at some issues of video recording of informed consent.

Apollo Health City, Hyderabad has been bestowed the prestigious ‘INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL TOURISM AWARD’ for Excellence in customer service, by the reputed International Medical Travel Journal, UK, at a glittering ceremony at JW Marriott Hotel in Dubai . The dedication to customer service rendered by Apollo Health City was applauded on the international platform attended by number of dignitaries from healthcare, insurance, pharmaceutical industries from around the world. Apollo Health City was the only hospital from India to be in the race for the prestigious awards and win one. Apollo in its journey has touched and enriched 37 million lives who came from 120 countries. Dr Prathap C Reddy the visionary founder Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group and architect of modern Indian healthcare – has pioneered Medical Tourism and his persistent efforts have been recognized once again on the International platform thus making India the Global Health Care destination. Team Apollo will continue its journey in Medical Tourism with renewed energy & vigor.  

The first day of the Conference, hosted by The Healthcare Alliance saw a splendid turnout of thought leaders, policy makers, senior Government officials, business and health leaders from India and across the globe. Three power packed sessions focus on issues critical to the future of healthcare. Three white papers released with an action plan for the industry. Participants unanimous about the huge threat posed by NCDs. Plenary session on the ‘Role of Innovation in achieving universal access’ and thought leaders to share their vision for the future on Day 2 . Recommendations arising from the conference to be presented to the Hon’ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, and Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad. The inaugural session witnessed the presence of personalities like Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India; LovVerma, Health Secretary, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Government of India; Prof K Srinath Reddy, President Public Health Foundation of India; Lord Nigel Crisp, Crossbench member, House of Lords and DrPrathap C Reddy, Chair of The Healthcare Alliance and Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group, all of whom delivered a special address to the audiences. With participation from over 15 countries and the presence of more than 500 delegates, the power-packed, morning-to-evening agenda focused on three critical issues facing the healthcare industry worldwide: The rising incidence of non-communicable diseases and how to curb it through primary and preventive healthcare; Setting up successful Public-Private-People Partnerships; Meeting the manpower needs of the future by up-skilling and up-scaling talent. Delivering his special address at the formal inauguration of the conference, Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Chair of The Healthcare Alliance and Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group, said “”Amazing progress has been made in healthcare over the last 30 years, yet barriers of accessibility, quality and cost persist. New challenges have risen such as the worrying ascent of NCDs, which claim 36 million lives every year in the world, with nearly 80% of these deaths occurring in low and middle income countries. The need of the hour is four-fold: preventive healthcare, making people partners in PPP, up-scaling and up-skilling the manpower , accelerating the pace of innovation. This Conference provides a common platform for collective thinking for stakeholders of the nation and global thought leaders to come up with an agenda for the future. We have to work towards the dream of a disease-free world. This is the big challenge for the future of healthcare.”” The Conference began with opening remarks by Ms.Sangita Reddy, Executive Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, who warmly welcomed the guests. She expressed hope that the deliberations and sessions over two days of the event would result in concrete recommendations to shape the future of healthcare not only in India but also in other countries facing similar demographic and economic challenges. A prominent highlight of the day was the launch of three White Papers by global consultancies Bain & Company, PwC and KPMG, each focused on a specific area of the conference highlighted by the sessions. The White Papers are a result of over three months of collaboration between members of The Healthcare Alliance and thought leaders from around the world to arrive at global solutions that are systemic, sustainable and impactful. Each paper looks into a definitive way forward and an action plan to impact the future of healthcare in the 21st century. Plenary Session 1: Control of NCDs through Primary and Preventive Healthcare Ms.ShobanaKamineni, Executive Director (New Initiatives), Apollo Hospitals Group, set the context for the plenary session on “”Control of NCDs through Primary and Preventive Healthcare”” which was followed by the keynote address by Prof K Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India. The insightful panel discussion saw several significant stakeholders as participants, including Anshu Prakash, Principal Secretary (Health & Family Welfare), Government of India; Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed; John Brooks, President & CEO, Joslin Diabetes Center; Dr V. Mohan, Chairman & Chief of Diabetology, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialty Centre, and; ShaileshAyyangar, MD & President, Sanofi India. The session was moderated by Karan Singh, Bain & Company’s Asia-Pacific Healthcare practice head. The main take-away from the discussion: With NCDs snatching away precious lives, a population equal to the size of a nation like Canada, each year across the world, this is a threat that can no longer be ignored. The solution lies in strengthening primary care for early detection and popularizing preventive care to bring down the incidence. Panelists recommended high-impact interventions and large-scale outreach throughout the country, articulation of a national vision for combating NCDs and partnering with community service organizations for creating better awareness. They also called upon the health service providers to expand their reach, deliver high quality but affordable care, address the demand for information and specially trained professionals. Pharmaceutical and medical technology companies need to develop and deploy an integrated approach to providing cost-effective medical products and work with policy makers to make affordable medicines available, the panelists recommended. Plenary Session 2: Public-Private-People Partnerships The panelists at the session on Public-Private-People Partnerships (PPPP) were unanimous about the importance of including people as partners in the existing PPP model to make it more effective and inclusive. They noted that global healthcare systems are increasingly coming under stress due to rising costs. India too needs huge investments to bring its healthcare infrastructure to international levels of penetration. Even as PPPs are becoming popular for service delivery, it is essential to consider people as a critical part of the health ecosystem, the participants concluded in a free-wheeling discussion moderated by Rana Mehta, Leader – Healthcare, PwC India. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), set the context for the discussions that revolved around the ingredients required to deliver successful healthcare PPPs. Dr Paul Da Rita, Head, Global Health PPP Advisory, International Finance Corporation, delivered the keynote address. Panelists recommended that the Government develop a health PPP policy framework, create an institutional mechanism to support health PPPs, ensure contractual flexibility and continued sharing of risks and rewards, devise an appropriate pricing and incentive mechanism to improve quality, affordability and viability, and benchmark best practices. Other action points from the panelists included the need for providers to evolve business models with fair margin and high volumes, collaborate with the Government in developing a policy framework, benchmark their own performance, and develop strategies for human resource augmentation. The participants also came up with specific recommendations for the community and citizens at large. Plenary Session 3: Talent Fast-forward: Upskill, Upscale The keynote address by Lord Nigel Crisp, Crossbench member, House of Lords, kick-started the session titled “”Talent fast-forward: Upskill, Upscale,”” with the context being set by RajendraPawar, Chairman, NIIT. The acute dearth of adequately educated or trained healthcare professionals was deeply felt by the panelists, who pointed out that this issue is limiting access and quality of healthcare services in India. They deliberated upon the challenge of ensuring sufficient supply of manpower for expansion of healthcare to all corners of the country and came up with many interesting ideas that showed the most practical way forward. The Government being the strongest influencer among all the stakeholders, the panelists recommended that it should ensure standardization across key elements of talent development, put together a policy framework to minimize entry barriers, and lay down regulations for up-skilling. They were of the view that healthcare trainers also need to redesign training structure and introduce innovations in training, while healthcare providers should restructure HR processes to comply with accreditation guidelines and collaborate with other stakeholders to achieve workforce outcomes. The Conference also included a lively conversation on the theme “”The Where, What and How – for the Future of Healthcare”” facilitated by Dr. AnupamSibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals, along with Dr. John Adler, Inventor CyberKnife and Chief of new Clinical Applications, Varian, Dr. Rajiv Doshi, Executive Director, Stanford-India Biodesign, and Dr. Euan Thomson, Operating Partner, Khosla Ventures. Even as Day 1 drew to a close, all eyes are set on Day 2 of the Conference which will see special addresses by the health ministers of various countries, including Botswana, Maldives, Mongolia, Mozambique and Sri Lanka, followed by a session on the role of innovation in achieving universal access to healthcare. In the final session, also one of the biggest in the two-day event, the world health sector will witness heads of Apollo Hospitals, Fortis Healthcare, Medicity, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Stanford Hospital and Clinics along with the World Health Organisation outline their vision of The Future of Healthcare for India and the world. Recommendations arising from the deliberations at the Conference will be presented to Shri Pranab Mukherjee, The Hon’ble President of India, and Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, on March 4, 2014, the second and final day of the event.  

Post a 9 month stay in Chennai under the care of clinical experts from Apollo Children’s Hospital; mother Grace is elated to take her two sons back home to Kasumulu in Tanzania, tonight where their family eagerly awaits them. In what can be considered a historical case attempted by an Indian Hospital, Apollo Speciality Hospitals in Vanagaram recently separated Ericana & Eluidi post a marathon surgery of 18 hours conducted by a select team of 20 doctors from the specialties of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, paediatric surgery and paediatric urology was led by Dr. Venkata Sripathi, Senior Consultant Paediatric Urologist, Apollo Children’s Hospital and Dr. Roshini Gopinathan, Senior Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Apollo Children’s Hospitals. “The twins saw each other for the first time only three weeks after surgery. It was great to see the twins explore each other- Eluidi took Ericana’s fingers and playfully lapped them. Both the twins are boisterous and immensely curious about the environment. They have completely different temperaments. Eluidi is very fond of Tamil film music and loves to ‘dance’ by wiggling his bottom and rocking back and forth. Ericana is the quieter one and he loves classical music. Their mother Grace also took some time to adjust to taking care of two lively infants. While they are returning home this evening, we look forward to having them back six months from now for surgical procedures on the penis and for colostomy closure. “” added Dr. Sripathi. Born in a small village called ‘Kasumulu’ in Tanzania Ericana and Eluidi were referred to Apollo Hospital in Chennai By the Tanzanian Government and have been under the expert care of skilled doctors at Apollo for six months now . Both babies who have been stable and showing signs of a promising and speedy recovery, can now look forward to leading normal lives as two separate individuals back home. “We see children being born every day at our facilities but to see same children being born again is a miracle. The case of Ericana and Eluidi was both unique and challenging but to know that we played an instrumental role in shaping not just their lives but their future is a great privilege. We are constantly scaling our clinical expertise and grabbing opportunities such as these that demonstrate our prowess as a global destination for affordable yet world class healthcare.” said Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Group of Hospitals. Conjoined twins, though rarely encountered, are seen in one in 200,000 deliveries. However, more than 60% of them are stillborn while 35% of the remaining die within a few days or months of birth due to various causes. Conjoined twins can be joined at the chest, abdomen, back, buttock and head. Fusion at the buttocks (Pygopagus) is very rare and accounts for less than 17% of all conjoined twins.  

The Afro Asian symposium session at the Apollo cancer conclave 2014 Chennai – a unique assembly of doctors and health care leaders from 14 countries exploring the incidence of cancer in their countries and debating on the way forward to conquer cancer. Apollo Hospitals will partner each of them to help and aid them in this fight against cancer.    

Ms. Preetha Reddy, Dr Reddy’s daughter and Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals, said the book was two years in the making, with the author spending a lot of time with her father, family members, associates and others who knew him. The biography contains several sepia-tinted photos of Chairman, his parents and family from the early days. The story begins from Aragonda, a small village in Andhra Pradesh, where Dr Reddy spent his childhood, and traces his journey from the small town to a medical school in Madras to a flourishing cardiology practice in the US. At the age of 50, he returned to India at the prodding of his father to make a difference to the country. Setting the tone to the event was a scintillating performance by noted dancer Alarmel Valli to Saint Annamacharya’s Srimannarayana. Theatre actor and director, Aamir Raza Husain, read passages from the book. Inspirational speaker, leadership consultant and author Devdutt Pattanaik shared his experiences of working with Dr Reddy during his early days as a medical practitioner. Expressing his gratitude to his late parents, Dr Reddy hoped that whatever imprints he had left in the field of healthcare would endure. The book is priced at INR 899.  

Speaking after unveiling the book, Mr. Chidambaram said, “Apollo has emerged as one of the most successful models of healthcare in the world. I have spent a considerable time studying this model. Before this, there were three different models of healthcare in India – government, purely private and, charity or trust. For the longest time, the three did not interact, and viewed the others with fear and suspicion. Apollo was the first system to bring the three together, to show that the government can be an ally where the corporate sector is providing the healthcare, and individual doctors in hospitals are also enhancing their skills.” Speaking at the event, Dr Reddy said, “The transformations of India’s healthcare and the Apollo story have just begun. There is a long way to go. I am thankful that I had the education and the luxury of going abroad, but I am so happy that I came back at my parents’ suggestion.” Theatre personality Aamir Raza Hussain read out excerpts from Dr Reddy’s book and spoke about the many sides of the doctor-entrepreneur that “”are not usually seen””. Dr Reddy’s four daughters also spoke on the occasion.